Return to Me
by Sunnybrook
Summary: Story based slightly on Adele's song "Someone like You" A once in your life love lost, and return?


"Easy there, girl. Good girl." The young woman patted the chestnut's neck with her gloved hand in hopes of calming the skittish horse. She figured she was well hidden but didn't want to take any risk of discovery, after all she just came back to Sweetwater to see for herself, to see one last time if he was well and happy, then she would leave the Country forever.

Gazing out over the former Pony Express Station yard she watched the windmill twirl, and marveled that there was so little changed through the past six years. Emma's house was still there and looked as it always had, as well as the original barns and old bunk house, the only difference, there was a new barn along with more horses and corals. Buck had accomplished his dream and it appeared a successful business. She was truly happy for him; he deserved every bit of success this cruel world had to offer.

She watched for several minutes as Buck, working out in the station yard rhythmically swung an ax into chunks of wood. Also working with him was a young, light brown-haired boy of about sixteen helping pick up the split pieces and stack them neatly into cords.

A single tear escaped her lashes and slid down her cheek. The young woman tried to fight back the tears as a small wistful smile played upon her face at the sight of both men working together. She didn't recognize the young man, but the man swinging the ax, she would never forget; ever! He was broader shouldered than she remembered him to be, but everything else about Buck Cross was still the same. Unconsciously she clutched at the silver locket around her neck as her heart ached at the sight of him.

It took all her inward strength not to kick her horse into a gallop and ride right up to him, swing off her mount and throw herself into his arms; but she knew that was for another time, another place. A trembling sigh escaped her as she saw a pretty young brown-haired woman walk out of the house carrying a pitcher of something cold for both men. Another tear escape their confines as she watched Buck set aside his ax and smile _his_ warm smile at the woman before giving her a brief kiss, their laughter reaching her ears.

She had to bite her lower lip to keep from crying outright as recognition hit; the young woman Buck was kissing and laughing with was Louise McCloud.

Fighting back the tears, she wondered what had happened to Kid and Lou. What ever had happened, she now knew Buck was a part of her life and they were happy. If he had to be with someone, she was glad at least he was with Louise.

"Good bye, my beloved. Take care of him, Lou." She whispered. Turning her horse to leave, she suddenly drew rein as a young woman of about thirteen stood in her path; hands firmly planted on her hips.

* * *

The inquisitive brown-haired girl quickly fired off a series of questions before the young woman could regain her composure after being so startled. "Who are you? And why are you watching my family? Do you know them? Are you a friend of theirs?"

The older woman looked the willowy youth over before responding in her straightforward way, "For someone so young you ask a lot of questions to an adult you don't know. Where I come from that isn't considered proper manners."

The girl tilted her chin up, boldly replying, "If you don't ask questions how can you ever learn anything?"

She chuckled at the girl's response. "Well spoken. They were once my friends, I just wanted to see if they were well."

"Then you can't just leave!" The young girl cried out exuberantly. "They would hate it if they didn't get a chance to see an old friend. You must come with me, they would be so happy. "

"I am sorry, but I can't stay," the woman replied sadly. "Tell me, though what is your name?"

"Theresa."

"Theresa, I am sorry to have intruded on your family but I must go, they mustn't know I was here."

"But why?"

Suddenly a dawn of recognition hit her as she looked anew upon the brown-haired girl. "You are Lou's little sister aren't you?"

"That's right. How do you know my sister?" Curiosity shining in her eyes.

A wan smile crossed the woman's face, but was obscured from view by the hooded cloak she wore. "It was a long time ago when I knew Louise and Buck, they rode for the Pony Express back then. I have to be going now."

Turning her horse she gave Theresa a wave goodbye. Suddenly a gust of wind came out of nowhere and blew back the hood of her cloak thus revealing a spray of raven curls that swirled every which way in the blowing wind.

Quickly she turned her face away from Theresa, but not before hearing the gasp escape the girl's lips.

"It's you. It's you. The girl in the photo Buck carries with him!" Theresa cried out joyfully. "I always knew that the Great Spirits would bring you back to him, that you would return to him!"

The woman managed to tame her hair and properly replace the hood. "I don't know what you are talking about, Theresa. You must have mistaken me for someone else, what ever girl you are thinking of, I'm not that girl." Her throat tightened and tears were threatening to fall once again, she had to leave.

Theresa wouldn't be so easily deterred. "Oh, but you are! I know it! You have wild raven hair just like her! Oh, you must come and see Buck..."

Agitated, she quickly cut the girl off, "I really must be going. You mistake me for someone else, I don't know of this woman you speak of. It was a mistake for me to come." This time she wasted no time and spurred her horse on, back in the direction of Sweetwater, when something suddenly made her halt and turn back to look at the girl still standing where she had left her. She had to know and this would be the last chance the three spinners would grant her. She called back to Theresa, "Is Buck happy?"

The breeze caught Theresa's words and brought them ringing clear and straight to her ear, "He still wears your necklace."

Tears were falling freely now, as she swung the chestnut around, dug her heels into the mare's flanks and galloped off, her hood falling away as raven locks fanned out behind her. As she rode, she let her memory drift back to the glorious sun-filled day the two of them shared riding. That was the day Buck had asked to court her and she gave him her most cherished necklace, telling him that as long as he wore it she would always be with him.

* * *

Theresa stood watching as the dark-haired women rode off, then spun around and headed back in a flurry of dust and skirts towards the house, frantically calling out Buck's name.

"Buck, Buck...come quick, come quick, you can still catch her, you can still catch her!"

He swung up with the ax and let it land with a thwack crack into the center of a newly placed chunk of wood and with a measure of satisfaction watched as it perfectly split apart. He looked up at the running girl who was calling his name and smiled to himself, wondering what sort of mischief Theresa had now gotten herself into.

"Now hold your horses there, little one..." Buck laughed as he deftly caught her up by her shoulders, swung her around and placed her back on the ground. "Do you plan to tell me what all this ruckus is about?"

"You have to come quick, Buck. Come on or you'll miss her and she will be gone forever..." Theresa pulled on Buck's arm, trying to move him in the direction she had just come.

"Now hold on, Theresa, what are you talking about?" Buck asked, surprised at her seriousness, while trying to dislodge her rather strong grip from his arm.

"It's her, I am sure of it, the girl you told me about from your photograph," She placed her hand on her chest as she said, "Your necklace...its her, the Great spirits brought her back to you!"

Buck felt the blood drain away from his face. The girl's exuberant words were never meant to hurt him, but still, they were sharp like a blade, lacerating anew an old wound that never quite healed and from time to time, still wept blood as fresh as the day the wound was struck.

Swallowing hard, his words came out thick, "Where? Where did you see her?"

Theresa was suddenly frightened at Buck's change of tone and with a trembling hand pointed towards the outcropping of trees where she had been but moments ago.

Buck drew back from Theresa, didn't utter a word and walk away as she called out his name.

He made it as far as the barn, snatched up Gomda's bridle and collapsed heavily against the gelding's stall.

Buck struggled to keep the past from overtaking him. Long had he meditated and prayed to the spirits for help to keep it all locked away safe, and most days he succeed; until today. Theresa's words broke the binding chains and in a furry, all the pain and sorrow of those fateful months broke free upon Buck.

Wave upon wave of locked up memories crashed over him as he dug his hands into the wooden gate. Buck willed himself to keep standing and not crumble to the ground, when in an instant that horrible, wretched day came searing back to him in a torrent of white hot pain and dropped him to his knees, as a guttural cry was rent from his lips. He was re-experiencing the day he held the telegraph that told him that his beloved Roslyn would never return to him. The ship she sailed on went down during a violent storm in the Atlantic; there were no survivors. In that single day, Buck's whole world had turned to ash.

Buck finally managed to bridle and mounted Gomda bare back and rode out of the former station yard, toward the out crop of trees where the woman was supposedly last seen. He prayed with every fiber in his living soul, that this wasn't some sort of cruel joke the spirits had decided to play on him, all the while holding to a Latin term Roslyn had taught him so long ago; Dum Spiro Spero...(While I breath I hope).

* * *

Lou stood upon the porch, shocked speechless as she heard Therese's excited words to Buck. In horror she watched as the he walked stiffly towards the barn, leaving the girl standing in the station yard with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Theresa, Sugar bear, come over here." Lou called out softly.

The upset girl ran to her sister, her voice trembling, "I didn't mean to make Buck mad, I thought he would be happy to know the Great Spirits returned her to him." Theresa buried her head in Lou's shoulder as she started to weep in earnest.

Lou tightened her arms around her sister, "Its alright, Theresa, every thing will be alright, Buck knows you meant no harm, he's hurting that's all."

Pulling out of her big sister's embrace, Theresa looked up into Lou's soft brown eyes, "But – but now he should be happy. She has returned! It's true Louise, I saw her, I really saw Roslyn. I even talked to her and caught a glimpse of her hair and eyes, wild raven curls and eyes storm gray just like Buck told me they were. And there was also a locket around her neck." Theresa could tell Louise didn't believe her.

Lou sighed. She would never understand why Buck had told Theresa the story about Roslyn Huntington, and that cursed necklace he never took off.

"Oh, sweetie," Lou brushed away the remaining tears that were falling down the girl's cheeks. "I know you love Buck, and you dream of Roslyn coming home to him, but this ain't some fanciful fairy tale; she ain't never coming back. You know as well as I, that she has been dead for over six years now. Who ever you saw today, it wasn't Roslyn."

Theresa pulled away from her sister and looked her straight in the eye. "It's no fancy, Louise! I know what I saw out there. It was Roslyn; she even asked if Buck was happy. I told her Buck still wore her necklace!"

Upon those words Theresa bolted for the house door, pushing past Rachael, and threw her young self onto her bed in a heap of sobs. Just then a cry that sounded like a wounded animal cut through the air.

* * *

"What on earth is going on out here?" Rachel asked Louise as she walked out onto the porch to see what the commotion was about. "What was that cry? And what has Theresa so upset?" Rachel got no response from Lou. The younger woman's attention was drawn towards the barn as a loud, determined 'Hee-yah' from Buck caught Rachel's ear. She turned just in time see Buck ride off in the direction of Sweetwater.

"Rachel, you might as well have a seat, this is going to take a while." Lou looked at her dear friend and nodded towards the empty rocker.

As Rachel settled into the chair she asked, "Is this about the girl Buck lost?"

Lou nodded. "It's a shame you never had a chance to meet Roslyn. She left Sweetwater just before you arrived, but she was the love of Buck's life. I never saw him so happy, they were truly made for each other." Lou went silent for a while.

"I only learned about her through the letters Buck chose to share with all of us, he seemed happy until..."

"Until that day the telegram arrived." Louise sighed.

"I wish you could have seen the two of them together, Rachel. I some times envied the couple. Don't get me wrong, the Kid and I had something special, but to see Buck and Roslyn together, well...something like that happens only once in a life time." Lou sighed, and cast her gaze in the direction Buck rode off.

Rachel had seen Buck happiest when he received letters from Roslyn, but then the downward spiral. But Rachel had never seen the contemplative man as happy as Lou was describing. "Tell me more about Buck and Roslyn back then, if you don't mind sharing, Louise."

Lou gave Rachel a drawn smile, "You deserve to know the early story, and after what happened today, I fear that Buck will not be the same; and we were so close..."

As Lou's story came to a close, Rachel fought back tears. She knew what it was like to have a love like Buck and Roslyn shared; along with the pain it wreaked on one's soul when you lose the one that completes you. Rachel also understood Lou's feelings as well. She had watched both of them cope with terrible loss and slowly over the years of healing draw closer to one another.

But now there was the woman Theresa saw. Rachel didn't doubt what the girl saw for a minute. Theresa may be a true romantic, but she loved Buck beyond life and would never hurt him, ever; but did she really see Roslyn?

"I believe Theresa saw someone, could it be Roslyn? Stranger things have happened," Rachel quietly said. "I know Roslyn is dead, but whatever happens, Louise, Buck will pull through. We all will help him through this. We can bring Buck back to us."

Theresa had stood in the doorway listening, and suddenly dashed out and threw herself into Rachel's arms as she said, "He will come back to us, our Buck will come back to us."

Louise rose up and threw her arms around Rachel and Theresa, giving both a huge all-encompassing hug. "Thank you Rachel." She whispered into her friend's ear.

* * *

Buck sat upon his horse and surveyed the wooded area. Immediately he caught Theresa's footprints and a moment later caught a set of hoof prints. He followed them...

As he rode he fought back the pain and tears that stung his eyes as he remembered the last day he watched Roslyn ride away in the stage, little knowing that would be the last time he would ever gaze into her beautiful shining eyes and experience the lingering feel of her soft lips upon his own.

He let out a shuddered sigh as the memory wash over him.

_"Buck, what are you doing? The stage is going to arrive any minute." Roslyn laughed as Buck pulled her to the side of Tompkins' store, out of view. He stole a kiss, then placed a small velvet pouch in her hand.  
_

_"I have something for you, Ros."_

_Roslyn starred at the contents he had placed in her hand then looked up at him. He would never forget that sweet bewildered smile she wore._

_"Buck...what is this? – What have you done?"_

_"Well, just don't stare at it, open it." He grinned; he couldn't wait to see the look on her face. __Slowly he watched as she opened the pouch and let the silver locket and chain fall into her palm._

_"Buck, it's beautiful" She held it up admiringly and suddenly gasped, "Buck!" __His boyish grin widened into a melting smile._

_"How – how did you...?" Her smile rivaled the sun as she traced her fingers lovingly over the etching on the locket's cover. It was etched with the same design as her mother's pendent Roslyn gave Buck to wear; three silver strands intricately interwoven into a continuous knot._

_"I knew what your Mother's pendant always meant to you. I still can't believe you gave it to me; I treasure it, Ros. So I found a jeweler in Denver, on one of my runs who didn't turn me away because I was..." He paused a moment, " I showed the older man your necklace and asked if he could carve the design onto the cover of a locket."_

_Roslyn was rendered almost speechless. "Its, its, beautiful, Buck. I can not believe you did this, you'll never know how much this means to me..."_

_"Oh, I think I do, Ros. Open the locket." He held his breath as Roslyn, smiling, did as Buck told her.__Roslyn's breath caught. Curled therein was a dark lock of Buck's hair, while nestled on top was a small white gold band set with little garnets; her favorite stone. All humor and laughter were gone as she raised her gaze to look into Buck's soulful dark eyes and read the meaning behind the tokens left inside the locket – he would always be with her._

_No words were needed as Roslyn twined her arms around his neck as he pulled her into a warm hug. __"I wish I didn't have to leave you, Buck," Roslyn murmured._

_"You don't have to leave you know, you could still stay here with me." He whispered as he pulled away enough to place a warm kiss upon her lips._

_Slowly she pulled out of Buck's embrace, to better look into those melting chocolate eyes she so adored. "For shame, Buck Cross," She giggled. "You are making it so hard for me to leave you, but you know Father needs me, he is dying and has no one. I don't want to go, but it is the only right thing to do."_

_Buck sighed, "I need you too, Roslyn. Please stay, I have a bad feeling about this trip."_

_"I need you too, Buck, but father... I'll be back in six months, a year at the most. Don't worry so, my love. The time will fly by, I promise. And before you know it we'll be married, then you will have the most prosperous horse ranch you ever dreamed about and we will have sons as handsome as their father."_

_"Daughters as beautiful as their mother." Buck replied with a laugh as he pulled her flush to him for one last lingering kiss._

_As their embrace ended he let his forehead rest upon hers so he could gaze one last time into the depths of her ever-changing gray eyes. "Last night, what we shared – we are now one, Roslyn. Promise me you'll return."_

_To his delight, Roslyn placed her hand over Buck's heart while clutching the locket he had given her, "I promise. Last night I became yours, Buck. And you just promised you would always be with me forever; I know I will return to you, remember love is stronger than death."_

_Buck embraced her once more than broke away when he heard his make shift brothers holler out the arrival of the Coach._

_Buck stood aside and watched as Roslyn gave her last goodbyes to their friends, then melted as she bid her final farewell to him. He helped her into the stagecoach and stood alone in the street as he watched his Roslyn ride off. His heart ached as he tried to fight back the foreboding that was trying to encroach upon his soul._

* * *

Buck drew reign next to a chestnut mare tethered to a branch; silently dismounting he followed the footprints. As he rounded a cluster of trees, he bit back a gasp and stopped dead in his tracks. His heart tightened and his breathing grew shallow; there she stood leaning against a tree, weeping. He watched for several moments not believing what his eyes were telling him were true. Buck could only see the back of her, but there was no mistaken those wild raven locks of hair. 'How could it be, how could it possibly be?' He wondered to himself; Roslyn had been dead for over six years, it couldn't be her.

"Roslyn?" He called out to her in a hoarse whisper.

There was no response from the woman. Impossible as it all seemed, he desperately hoped he wasn't finally going mad. Buck called her name a second time, his voice stronger, still no response. His heart was hammering within his chest as he made a third call, his voice trembling, "Roslyn, is that really you?"

Clutching at his medicine pouch Buck's breath caught in his throat as he watched the woman slightly turn as her soft voice spoke his name, "Buck?"

Buck would never forget Roslyn's voice; it haunted his dreams every night since she went away. A chill ran down his spine as he asked, "Roslyn? Is that you, how...?"

She turned and faced him, the left side of her face hidden by her long dark curls. "Yes, Buck. Its me, Roslyn." Tears were falling freely down her exposed cheek.

A ragged sigh escaped Buck's lips as he stood gazing upon her. Taking a tentative step toward Roslyn, he reached out a trembling hand and brushed away the falling tears. He pressed his fingers tenderly to her exposed cheek and closed his eyes, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. "Roslyn, you're alive!" He rasped.

"Buck, ..." She whispered, as more of her tears fell over his hand as he gently cradled her face.

He couldn't stop himself as he stepped in closer, his own tears now falling as he reached his other hand out to brush back the jet curls obscuring her face. He longed to gaze once again into eyes that had shone with love for him so long ago.

"No! No, please, don't!" Roslyn suddenly turned away from Buck.

"Roslyn?! What's wrong?"

Roslyn's heart tightened at the pain in his voice. "The girl you knew, the Roslyn you remembered died six years ago when the ship went down."

Buck's emotions were reeling. "I don't understand, Roslyn. You're standing here in front of me alive, alive for six years. Why didn't you return? I think I deserve to know why."

"I should never have come back," she whispered. " I just wanted to know if you were happy, and you are; you have Louise."

"Happy?!" Buck's voice trembled low, "You think I am happy? Six years I spent longing for you. Six years trying to push the memory of us away, always knowing you were never coming back. Six years and the only thing that I looked forward to was sleep, because that's when you would return to me."

I'm so sorry, so very sorry, Buck. I never meant to hurt you, but I'm not the same as you remembered." Gradually Roslyn turned back around to face Buck, "Your right, Buck. You deserve to know why I stayed away; this is why."

He watched as she slowly pulled back all the hair from around her face. Buck's heart stopped beating at the sight that met his eyes. Ugly red, jagged scars ran down the left side of her lovely face and her once shining storm gray eye was now a dull opaque.

The look on Buck's face was all Roslyn need to see to confirm her decision. She quickly turned away from him and let her hair fall back over her scared features. "I stayed away because I never wanted you to see me like this."

In two easy strides he gathered her into his arms and held her close. They spoke no words both just clinging to the other, afraid to let go and sever forever the internal cord that bound them, each to the other.

After awhile he led her to a fallen tree where they could both sit and talk. Roslyn kept her scarred face turned away from Buck; that was too much for him to take. Reaching his hand up, he turned her so that he could look full upon her.

"Roslyn, please don't hide your face from me. You came back, we can finally be together."

She squeezed her eyes shut, her heart shattering at his words. "No, Buck, please don't look upon me, please don't talk like that."

He let her hide the scarred side of her face from him but gathered her hands into his own. "You will always be beautiful to me, I can't stop how I feel, Roslyn. But what happened? I was told there were no survivors."

Roslyn stared for several moments at his beautiful strong hands as they lovingly held onto her gloved ones. "I'm not exactly sure what happened, Buck. We were almost at port when the storm hit. All the passengers were told to return to their cabins. I was so very scared, Buck. The storm was so violent, I couldn't stand on my feet, and I could only cling to the bed."

" I should have been there with you..."

"No Buck, No!" She suddenly looked up at Buck and spoke with a passion, "Had you been there you would have died! I am glad you were not there, you are alive!"

Just as quickly as she looked upon his handsome face she looked away, her voice trembling and sad. "As the storm worsened the ship lurched violently and I lost my hold. I was thrown, I remembered a horrid crash and searing pain to my face and side, and then I was thrown back and hit the wall. After that all I remember is a man, I don't know who he was, but he helped me. I remember being cold, colder than I ever felt before and the strange man telling me to hang on, that I had to return. All I remember after that is waking up in a hospital ward, I never saw the stranger again."

Buck swallow hard as he listened to her story, it seem almost impossible but could the Great Spirits have had a share in returning her to him...?

"What happened after you left the hospital? Why didn't you write to me?" Buck tightened his clasp around her hands, his voice quivering.

Roslyn bowed her head lower and tried to stifle back a sob. "I tried, Buck. I did write to you but the letters came back. The war kept the letters from going through." Tears were falling once again. "I tried to write you after the war ended but I realized I couldn't mail the letters, I couldn't do that to you, not after seeing for myself the ugly scars that were left, and my blind eye. It was better to let you think I was dead, really I am dead."

Buck released his hold on her hands and grasped her face, forcing both of them to look upon the other. His voice was raw with years of pent-up pain. "You are not dead, Roslyn! You are alive and we can be together!"

Roslyn wretched herself free from Buck's tender hold and stood, turning herself away from him. "No! There is no life for us, Buck. We had our moment, the Roslyn you knew died the day the ship went down in the Atlantic.

"Stop talking like that!" He choked.

"Look at me Buck! Really look at me!" Roslyn whirled back around, removed her leather gloves and pushed up the sleeve of her blouse. "Look at this! Look at my arm! Look at my hand!"

She held her arm up to him, thus revealing more ugly scars and Buck's ring resting upon the finger of her burned disfigured hand. "What kind of wife can I be to you, Buck? I have to wear gloves and a hooded cloak when I go into town just to keep children from shrieking at the sight of me and still, grown women gasp in horror. And what of the children we would have – I couldn't bear seeing fear in their eyes as they look upon their mother, and I know I could never stand to see pity in your eyes."

"I don't pity you and would never pity you, Roslyn; you should know that! And our children would never fear you!" Buck's words spoke of all his inward passion. "You never saw the color of my skin, you loved me even after all we went through; you even endured being spit at and called a whore because of me. Your scars don't matter; it's you I love, Roslyn! How can I make you understand?" He stepped closer to gather her into his arms, only to have her step away from him.

Roslyn turned her face and softly whispered, "I will always love you, Buck Cross. But you and I..." She shook her head sadly, "...we'll never have what we once shared. I live a half-life in the shadows now, you deserve more than a recluse of a wife. You're better off with Louise. I don't know what happened to Kid, but you make her happy, I saw the two of you laughing."

"Kid died in the war." He felt his throat tighten. "Why are you doing this to me – to us?"

"You're better off with Lou, Buck. I plan to return to England. Father's estate is leased but there is a cottage on the property that is perfect for me. It's small and I can slip in and out of the village as I need to, and I can live out my days reading and drawing, it's almost perfect."

Buck felt like blades were being thrust into his soul at the sound of her words.

"No! No, you can't mean that?" He rasped as he stepped closer to her and spun her around, forcing Roslyn to look at him. "Look at me...tell me you don't care, that you can leave me, that you can let what we had go. Tell me you don't feel this..." He pressed his lips firmly to hers with all the love and passion he ever felt for her.

Roslyn trembled at his touch and slowly wrapped her arms around Buck and gave into his kiss, then, with a shuddered sigh, let her head rest upon his chest and listened to his rapidly beating heart. "Oh, how I do love you Buck. I love you. To stay like this forever in your arms, just the two of us, would be perfect." Roslyn rambled on and on as tears fell and she clung to him.

"Why can't this be forever?"

"You know why, Buck. It will never work." She forcefully pulled away from him and brushed her hand across her scarred face. "Its best this way. You know I can never be the proper wife you truly need. You deserve a wife proud to hold on your arm, a mother your children wouldn't shriek in fear of, I could never be that wife, not now..." Her words broke in pain as she ran away from him.

Roslyn made it as far as her horse and was about to mount, but Buck was faster and he grabbed her arm and spun her about, his words stopping her dead. "No, no!You don't get to come back into my life and then leave me like this! You don't get to come back and tell me what's best for _ME, I know what's best for me!"_

Buck was close to breaking, as he gazed upon the only women he truly loved beyond life. "You once told me that we had something worth fighting for, that love was stronger than death...was that a lie? Tell me, Roslyn, was it all just a lie?"

Roslyn gasped at the pain his words held. "No, no it was never a lie, Buck." She cried, fighting back the ache that was welling in her. She managed to wrench free from his hold and mounted her horse, "Dear God, no, no it was never a lie, I love you with all my heart, I love you – that's why I must leave you, Buck." Roslyn cast her full gaze upon Buck, committing his handsome face once more to memory, "Make her happy – and you will make me happy."

She kicked her heels into her mare's flanks, a solitary "Hee-Yah" cut through the air.

"No!" Buck cried, "No Roslyn no, come back! Return to me, Roslyn!"

* * *

Buck's cry sliced through the air and pierced Roslyn's heart, forcing her to pull back on her mare's reins and swing the chestnut back around in time to watch Buck drop to his knees, his words haunting her; "Return to me..."

* * *

**Okay... wretched Adele did this to me...story very loosely based on her song "Someone like you". I choose not to really give a solid ending...  
**

**A huge hug goes out to the gals at the plus...you guys inspire me and especially encourage me as a new writer to keep typing :) . **

**Next a special hug to Jenna, Anita and Kristina... without their eyes on this story and wonderful suggestions, it would never have seen the light of day...thank you guys :)**

**I hope every one likes... tell me what you think... **


End file.
